The pianist Art Tatum died more than fifty years ago, yet his amazing playing and recordings left an indelible mark on jazz and continue to astonish and inspire excellence for today's pianists in all genres of music.

This compilation features 29 solo Art Tatum piano recordings from 1932 to 1953, including two very rare private recordings (The Continental and Chopin's Valse In C Minor Op.64 No.2) from a Toronto night club in 1949.

The tunes on this CD have never been previously released and the music was originally recorded live on Steve Allen's Tonight Show and in clubs in New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago during the year before Tatum died.

Like a landscape painted on a small canvas, Tatum recordings need to be savoured individually. They are so replete with astonishing detail that using the repeat button on your CD player may be a wise thing indeed.